Education authorities in Quang Trach District, Quang Binh Province have been criticised for organising an outdoor swimming competition despite cold weather.
Where the swimming contest was organised
A total of 220 secondary school students and 69 primary school students were compelled to compete in the contest, held on February 19-20.
The contest continued even though the temperatures dropped as low as 12 degrees Celsius, drawing criticism from the students’ parents, local residents and passers-by.
“I don’t know why they would hold a swimming contest when it is so cold. Several students needed to be taken out immediately after jumping in the water,” said a local boatman hired to provide rescue services during the contest.
A local woman who has two children participating in the contest said, “The adults who stood at the bank of the dam bank were cold even though they were dressed in thick clothes. I felt as if they were trying to torture our children.”
Dang Xuan Loc, Head of the Quang Trach district Office of Education and Training
Dang Xuan Loc, Head of the district Office of Education and Training said, “We only worked in an advisory capacity for the contest, and the district People’s Committee approved the plan, which was made quite a long term ago. They couldn’t have predicted the weather being so cold. They found it dificult to delay the event to another day, as it may have affected their other plans and drove up expenses.”
